November 2011

Cranberry Pear Salsa.

Cranberry Pear Salsa makes about 1 1/2 cups of salsa 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries 1 anjou pear, peeled and chopped 1 large apple, peeled and chopped 1/4 red onion, chopped 1/2 jalapeno, chopped 1/3 cup fresh cilantro the juice of two limes the juice of one orange 4 tablespoons honey 1/4 teaspoon salt Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt or honey if desired. Note: this salsa can be very TART depending on your cranberries. Don’t be afraid to add more honey, salt or even a few spoonfuls of sugar (yes, sugar!) to the mix.

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Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes.

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes serves 4-6, with generous helpings + leftovers 3 pounds of (yukon gold or russet) potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 cup of milk (whole will taste best, but 2% tastes great too!) 3/4 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper Peel and chop potatoes, then add to a large pot. Fill with cold water – stopping just as the water reaches about an inch about the potatoes. Heat over high heat and let come to a boil, then cook for 25-30 minutes, or until fork tender. When potatoes have about 5 minutes left, add butter to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Whisking continuously, cook until little brown bits appear on the bottom of the pan, then remove immediately from heat. Drain potatoes, then add back to the pot, turning the heat to low. Mash with a potato masher to break up the chunks, then add in butter, milk and salt. Mash some more, or use a hand mixer to whip potatoes until creamy. At this point, taste and see if you desire any more flavoring (salt, pepper, additional brown butter, etc). Garnish with fresh sage and serve.

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Grown Up Hot Chocolate with Homemade Bailey’s Marshmallows.

Grown Up Hot Chocolate [lightly adapted from food network] serves about 6 3 cups whole milk 1 1/2 cups cream or half and half 1/4 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark) 4 ounces milk chocolate, chopped 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract pinch of salt 4-6 ounces of marshmallow (or vanilla, cake, whipped cream) vodka In a large bowl, mix together cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add milk and cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring every few minutes. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the milk to the cocoa and sugar, mixing thoroughly to create a paste. Once the entire thing is wet, use a spatula to add it to the milk and turn the heat down to low. Whisk continuously until smooth (do not let it boil), the whisk in chopped chocolate and vanilla extract. Remove from heat and whisk in vodka, or add to each glass right before serving. Top with marshmallows and whipped cream. For the Bailey’s marshmallows, I used this exact recipe for beer marshmallows, substituting Bailey’s for beer.

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Roasted Butternut Baked Penne.

Roasted Butternut Baked Penne serves about 4 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and chopped 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 small shallot, chopped 1 tablespoons flour 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese 2/3 cup milk 1/2 pound whole wheat penne 1/4 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese sage leaves crumbed bacon, if desired Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel and chop squash, then lay on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Roast for 20 minutes, flip once, then roast for 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and add squash to a bowl, then mash with a potato masher or fork. Prepare water for pasta and cook according to directions. While pasta is cooking, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat and add butter and shallots. Whisk continuously until the butter browns and small brown bits appear in the pan. Immediately whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add milk, mascarpone and mashed squash, then mix until until combined. I chose to keep my “sauce” in a thicker state (see the second picture), but if you’d like it thinned out a bit more, [...]

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Chewy Lemon Cookies.

Chewy Lemon Cookies [adapted from giant rainbow cookies] makes about 18 cookies 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 stick ( 1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest/rind 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon lemon extract Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix flour, baking soda and salt and set aside. In a large bowl, add cooled, melted butter and whisk sugar into it until smooth. Add in egg and egg yolk, mixing to combine, then whisk in vanilla and lemon extracts, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir in dry ingredients, mixing until a dough forms. If needed, use your hands to create the dough (I did). Using an ice cream spoon, scoop the dough into golf-ball sized balls and place on a baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until middle is just set an edges are slightly golden.

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Crispy Acorn Squash Rounds.

Crispy Squash Rounds serves 2-4 (or uh… 1) 2 acorn squash, sliced into rounds 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/4 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal 3/4 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs 6 sage leaves, chopped 3 egg whites, lightly beaten Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then place a wire rack on top of the sheet. Spray with non-stick spray. Peel acorn squash rounds if desired (this only took me an extra 5 minutes), then sprinkle with salt, pepper, chili powder and nutmeg. In one bowl, add egg whites and lightly beat with a fork. In a second bowl, add flour, sage, cornmeal and breadcrumbs and mix. Coat each squash round in the beaten egg white, then dredge through the cornmeal mixture, pressing to adhere. Gently place on the baking sheet and repeat with remaining squash. Right before baking, mist squash with a spritz of olive oil or non-stick spray. Bake for 20 minutes, then gently flip (if desired), mist once more, and bake for about 20 minutes longer, or until squash is crispy and golden. Serve with dipping sauce [...]

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Tuesday Things.

1. Please, please, please tell me you’ve watched this video from Jimmy Kimmel. I laughed until I cried. 2. Speaking of crying, this is the milkshake I had on Friday that was NOT MY IDEA. After drinking about a fourth of it, I felt like I wanted to die but couldn’t stop. I am so sick minded that I really want to recreate it for YOU. 3. Last week I went on a mayyyyjor pinning binge of Christmas and holiday related things. Now I just need a million dollars, a new house and for Martha Stewart to be my BFF. 4. Watching J.R. on dancing with the stars makes my want to bawl my eyes out. I love love love him! He is so, so, so passionate. I adore passionate people. Even if they are passionate about things I dislike, like vegetables or cats, I can’t get enough. People… have a passion. It’s so important. 5. Many of you are asking me what I’m making for Thanksgiving, and the answer is nothing. Well, that is sort of a lie… I don’t cook anything on holidays because we gallivant all over the place. I normally make some sort of [...]

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Snickerdoodle Cookie Cupcakes.

Snickerdoodle Cookie Cupcakes makes 12-14 cupcakes cookie layer 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 cups all-purpose flour pinch of salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoons cinnamon 1 tablespoon milk, if needed Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla, mixing well until combine, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until dough comes together. Add in milk. If dough is crumbly, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it comes together. Refrigerate dough while you make cupcake batter. cake layer 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 whole eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/3 cup milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Line muffin tins with [...]

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Lightened-Up Sweet Potato Casserole.

Lightened-Up Sweet Potato Casserole serves 6-8, possibly more + can easily be doubled sweet potato layer 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1/3 cup canned lite coconut milk 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1 1/2 inch cubes. Add to a pot with cold water, then bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20-30 minutes, then drain. While sweet potatoes are cooking, add butter to a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, cook until little brown bits appear in the pan – about 4-5 minutes. Remove immediately from heat and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In the bowl of an electric mix (or a large bowl, using a hand mixer), add sweet potatoes. Add all remaining ingredients – sugar, syrup, spices, salt, vanilla extract, coconut milk and brown butter – and mix on low speed until combined about 30 seconds. Mix on medium speed for another 1-2 minutes, until potatoes are whipped. Spread in an oven-safe pan or dish. I used an 9 x 2 1/2 round [...]

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S’moretini Shooters.

S’moretini Shooters makes 1 (2 ounce) shooter, easily multiplied 1/2 ounce marshmallow vodka (or vanilla, whipped cream or cake flavored vodka) 1/2 ounce Godiva chocolate liqueur 1/4 ounce Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur 3/4 ounce cream/half and half chocolate syrup or hot fudge graham cracker crumbs vanilla frosting for glass rimming mini marshmallows Dip the rim of you glass in a bit of frosting, then dip into graham cracker crumbs. Pour about 1/2 teaspoon chocolate fudge into the bottom of the glass. Combine vodka, Baileys, Godiva and cream in a shaker (or water bottle with lid) with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Pour into glass. Top with mini marshmallows skewered on a toothpick. For 8 shooters or 2 martinis, you will need: 4 ounces of marshmallow vodka, 4 ounces of Godiva chocolate liqueur, 2 ounces of Bailey’s and about 6 ounces of milk. Measurements obviously may change depending on your own preferred tastes. Note: if you don’t have any leftover frosting for glass rimming, I think something sticky like maple syrup or agave will work.

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